At the end of an exhausting December, I’ve had a quiet day. I’ve taken tiny dog for a walk in the hills, gathering springwater for the houseplants and the altar; and now I’m cozied up at home, where I plan to watch White Christmas with a gin in memory of my old grandpa, while cutting out the pictures I’d like to keep from last year’s calendar, and possibly playing with some crochet patterns.

But before I hit the gin, it’s time for some reflection.

I’m using my favourite friendly-but-straight-talking tarot deck, the Everyday Witch. 2017 & everything I’m still striving to learn has made me painfully aware how white this deck is; I acknowledge its failings, while still turning to it for readings like these, because it speaks to me so clearly (the artist, Elisabeth Alba, seems to have been as influenced by Tamora Pierce as I was, growing up).

In the interests of this blog being a place where I can write about anything…

It’s the most wonderful* time of the Welsh musical year, when Rhys Mwyn compiles the annual Siart Amgen – essentially, a Welsh FestiveFifty.
*The nominations are already causing a controversy on Welsh twitter…

a song so alternative that nobody has heard it

Tempting as it is to take a chunk of time out of my studies to wax lyrical about what we even mean by ‘alternative’ – especially in the context of a minority language – I’m going to leave you with my top 10:

CW: if you’re suffering from poor mental health, sometimes reading the experiences of others can send you into a tailspin. Please take care when reading this. It’s mostly reflective, but still pretty raw.

Originally posted on GODS & RADICALS: We have started rebuilding from the ruins. We are the children you never knew you would have. We do not see you but we keep on building the future you made your crossing for. Gods&Radicals is pleased to announce that the fourth issue of our journal, A Beautiful Resistance,…

Ten years ago I was living in a small flat by the sea, facing east. One of my most cherished memories from that time was the ‘path’ made by the moonlight reflected in the water – ripples of light leading to a smooth pool of silver on the far horizon. I knew it was an illusion, and that the silver pool could never really be reached, but that didn’t stop me wanting to jump in a boat and set out to try.

The Moon – Anna K Tarot

The Moon card in the Anna K Tarot captures this feeling perfectly. As soon as I saw the artwork for this card, I fell in love (as I did with The Star and The Sun – all cards I can struggle to connect with in other decks).

Recently, The Moon has been appearing in pretty much all my readings – when it’s not in the spread, it will usually be the extra card I draw for clarification.